I have always had the luxury and joy of using a large oven and stove. Sure - this may seem very trivial, but it is true. Five and six burner stoves and numerous ovens make up my parents' kitchen. My own "grown up" kitchen has a five-burner stove, and an oven, which hold extra large cookie sheets. I mention only because we are moving. We are staying in Abu Dhabi, but moving to a different apartment, and one of the challenges I have had is finding a place that has BOTH a great view and a stove that meets my... Continue reading

I was one of those people who before having a child had a long list of all of things I would and would not do. I was so very sure of what I would NOT do when I had my child - she would NOT sleep in our bed, no meant NO, TV time would be severely limited, and the list went on. It is funny how one thinks that everything is completely within their control before having a kid - and then in a moment it changes. You start on an endless journey of treading water and there are... Continue reading

I got a lot more than a college education when I spent 4 years in Dallas, TX for college. My freshman roommate, Margaret was from Shreveport, Louisiana, and she was not shy about letting people know it. All things that one might attribute to the South and Southern hospitality, I learned fro...

I got a lot more than a college education when I spent 4 years in Dallas, TX for college. My freshman roommate, Margaret was from Shreveport, Louisiana, and she was not shy about letting people know it. All things that one might attribute to the South and Southern hospitality, I learned fro...

The sun is rising over the desert sands and with it comes the dust and the mist. The air is thick and the humidity drips off the windows as if a spring rain has just washed through the area, only it hasn't because it rarely rains here. In fact it would be safe to say that it almost never rains. The summer is hot. And even though we live in the middle of the desert it is also humid - there are times when the humidity reaches upwards of 80%. Oh yes, that does wonders for my hair. Sweat comes... Continue reading

Hi Gretchen! I have not used a mini cupcake pan for this. I might keep the temp the same but cut back the cooking time in half? Maybe keep a constant eye on the cheesecake while you are cooking. Let me know how it turns out!

No, I have never been to the Kentucky Derby, but I have spent a significant amount of time in the South (Texas to be exact), so I am quite familiar with the importance of bourbon. In fact, I clearly remember when I came back home to Boston and my father offered to get me a drink at our cousi...

I was never a girl scout. Growing up I always kind of envied them - it was like an elite club that I was never part of. Years later I made up for it by joining a sorority at college in Texas, but Girl Scouts always eluded me. As I was not a Girl Scout, I never really got into the whole cookie thing. Sure, I knew about them and ate them, but I really only liked the Thin Mints. They reminded me of similar cookie my parents would buy and keep in the freezer. The mint flavor was like... Continue reading

There are so many granola recipes out there. Everyone seems to like theirs slightly different from the next - dried fruit, no fruit, sweet, salty, buttery, dry, crispy, soft, etc. I first made my own granola a few years ago in our apartment in Boston's South End. It was pretty simple- oats, coconut oil, agave necter, toasted almonds, and raisins. I also added a few extra pinches of salt for the sweet/savory combination. I liked the creation so much, that I made a HUGE batch of it before our wedding and had bags of it waiting in the guests' hotel... Continue reading

On July 13, 2005 my husband and I went on our first date. On our second date I cooked for him. The meal was fine, some might even go as far as to say great, but the dessert was over the top - poached pears in red wine with a dark chocolate sauce over the top. I also made chocolate truffles for the first time. All of my friends now know that I make chocolates on a fairly regular basis (of course it is a bit more difficult now that we live in the Middle East - the weather does... Continue reading

A weekend trip to New Jersey to visit one of my closest friends left me with several pounds of apples... Jonathan Apples, Honey Crisp, Golden Delicious, and whatever else I could reach and twist off the trees with my hands. The four pounds of apples I brought home added to the bunch I already...

The heat. That is what it is that has kept me away from blogging for so many weeks. The intense heat of the Arabian Gulf that takes away your desire to do, well, pretty much anything and everything. Between the high temperatures (regularly above 112F) and the constant dust and sand in the air, I have been incredibly lazy. Sure, I still get to the gym, I still go to work, I still brave the traffic in Abu Dhabi on a regular basis, but at the end of the day my energy is zapped. Gone. Sucked out of every cell... Continue reading

OK - so maybe the original version of this recipe is not by Brenda, but Brenda made this zucchini bread for me, and she shared the recipe with me, so she is now getting the credit. Truth be told, the credit should go to Gluten Free Goddess - amazing recipes and gorgeous pictures! There are several things that make this recipe so amazing. It has brown sugar in it, which gives a deep and rich sweetness. The recipe is gluten free and dairy free, and you could make it vegan if you want. It is a forgiving recipe, and this... Continue reading

I used to be so good at this - writing recipes, taking photos, etc. But ever since we moved to Abu Dhabi, a new rhythm has set in, and while it is neither good nor bad, it is different and my attention is focused elsewhere. From time to time I think about the days back in Boston where I cooked and baked and wrote regularly (at least a few times a month) and every time I completed a blog post I felt an enourmous sense of accomplishment. Yes, I know some of you do at least one, maybe even three,... Continue reading

I have the best memories of cookies as a kid - my mother ran a gourmet food store, and I would sneak into the walk-in freezers with a spoon and put spoonful after spoonful of the cookie dough into my mouth. It made me quite popular when I brought my friends to show them what treasures hid behind door number one. Sure, you could argue that it was unsanitary or a terrible thing to eat raw egg. As a 12 year old, those kinds of things really didn't matter, and it is still a great memory. I mean really, how... Continue reading

(image by Lily Underwood Burns) I have a thing for bars. Not the kind you step up to an order a drink from but the kind you eat. I know that a lot of them are crap. They are full of sugar and stuff you cannot really pronounce, but I still am on a search to find the perfect bar. I guess the cl...

(image by Lily Underwood Burns) I have a thing for bars. Not the kind you step up to an order a drink from but the kind you eat. I know that a lot of them are crap. They are full of sugar and stuff you cannot really pronounce, but I still am on a search to find the perfect bar. I guess the closest bar to perfection might be a Lara Bar due to the minimalist approach in ingredients an pure taste. But the flavor of the original bars is a bit flat for me. It is sweet piled upon... Continue reading

I love the flavors of sweet and savory together particularly when it comes to dessert. In particulate I am drawn to dark chocolate with a hint of sea salt. As a child chocolate covered pretzels were always a favorite, and this is still the case. When I want desert it tends to be dark chocolate. Not an entire bar, just a small piece - it is after all good for your heart and all good stuff. One or two small squares and I am pretty much satisfied. However, we recently came back from Vietnam where we took several cooking classes.... Continue reading

Traveling has consumed our lives for the past two months - Nepal, India, Vietnam, and Cambodia are now safely stamped into our passports and leave amazing memories. Living in Abu Dhabi has opened up a whole new part of the world (literally) that seemd so foreign and distant when we lived in Boston. Most places in Asia, Africa, and Europe are within 7 hrs. Considering it takes almost 15 hours to fly back to Boston, 7 hours seems like nothing. Each time we travel we learn about the culture through the food - the flavors, smells, and textures of the... Continue reading

November... for me it is truly the sign of the holiday season. Apples, pumpkins, foliage, and the scent of winter in the air. Oh, and my birthday. My birthday is in November as well. Since we moved to the Middle East fall is different. Instead of getting mentally prepared to spend the coming months inside, we start opening the windows and spending more time outside. The cooler weather (the days are around 80F instead of 120F) means longer walks outside, dinners by the water with cool Gulf breezes, and a break from the sweltering months of the summer. All of... Continue reading

My mother taught me how to cook. My father also spent a considerable amount of time with me in the kitchen. They both have their specialties and entertain better than anyone I know. The best gift they have ever given me is the ability to cook. It often does not come down to the exact 1/8 of a teaspoon or the perfect shape of a pie crust. Instead it comes down to a feeling, a sense of knowing what flavors work well together, when to improvise, and when measuring matters. Of course when it comes to measuring there tends to... Continue reading

There are lots of flours out there. More kinds of flours that I can possibly begin to name. At times, it really is a bit overwhelming. There are of course the basic, no-nonsense kinds of flour like all purpose, whole wheat, and bread flour. Then there are the more exotic kinds of flour like spelt, teff, quinoa, and coconut. For people with allergies or those looking for something different, the options are endless. I suppose I fall into the latter category. I am always trying new recipes and experimenting with old ones. So it is no wonder that our pantry... Continue reading

I know - maybe the name of the cake should be a bit more refined... but really, that is exactly what kind of cake I made. It is adapted from Nigella Lawson's Orange Cornmeal Cake, which I made for my husband several years ago. Since I first made that cake he has talked about it to friends on several occassions. Even when I first made it, I boozed it up a bit. When it came out of the oven I poured a generous amount of Grand Marnier over the top as the cake cooled. The result was, well, pretty damn... Continue reading

I am not posting anything new here. In fact, I am a bit late to this particular party. Frozen bananas=ice cream? Yeah, actually they do. And they are really freaking good. I am not a huge banana fan, and when I do eat them I am VERY picky about them. I do not like them very ripe, I do not like them too green. I do not like the brown spots. And since we live in the Middle East, bananas tend to rippen fast. Very fast. When this happens I do what most people probably do, and I make banana... Continue reading

When asked whether I want chocolate or vanilla, I tend to choose vanilla. There is something undeniabley wonderful about the simplicity of the flavor. Don't get me wrong, I love chocolate, and I have small pieces of dark chocolate every single day. However, vanilla is often overlooked. When we first moved to the UAE I have a hard time finding vanilla extract. Sure, there was imitation vanilla, and I could find vanilla flavouring on the shelves of every grocery store and hypermarket. But vanilla extract was no where to be seen. It then dawned on me that it contained alcohol.... Continue reading

Cravings... I think we have all had them at some point. Over the past few months I have tried very hard to keep mine under control. Unfortunately it does not always work. I keep joking that I am carbo-loading for a big race in the early fall, hence the abundance of bread in our kitchen. And bread always tastes better when it is accompanied by a fruity Spanish olive oil and some flaked sea salt... I suppose I could crave things that are worse? But as the weeks and now months have progressed, my attention has turned to lighter fare.... Continue reading